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Excellence in care affirmed with more than a dozen quality awards

Added: 01.12.2016

Exceptional quality care does not happen by chance.

In the last year, the care delivered through CharterCARE’s hospital and nursing home affiliates was affirmed with more than a dozen quality awards, accreditations, and certifications. These awards were delivered by the country’s leading health care accrediting agencies like The Joint Commission, the American College of Surgeons, and the American Nurses Association.

Roger Williams Medical Center, Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, and Elmhurst Extended Care were recognized for safety, positive patient outcomes, and excellent clinical care. The programs that received recognition for quality in 2015 included cancer, nursing, weight loss surgery, stroke, orthopaedic surgery, sleep medicine, diabetes, laboratory medicine, and elder care. And the first half of 2016 brought even more quality recognition with the following awards:

The Roger Williams Medical Center Blood and Marrow Transplant program, the only unit of its kind in the state, was awarded renewed accreditation from the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) for demonstrating compliance with the FACT-JACIE International Standards for the full scope of bone marrow transplant programming. The accreditation is effective January 2016 for a period of three years.

The hip, knee, and spine surgery programs at both Fatima and Roger Williams were awarded Blue Distinction Center status by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island for demonstrating better overall quality of care and patient results in these specialties.

Roger Williams Cancer Center was one of just 24 accredited cancer programs in the country to receive the June-December 2015 Outstanding Achievement Award from the Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons. The award acknowledges programs that achieve excellence in providing quality care to cancer patients.

Elmhurst Extended Care received a deficiency-free survey following a four day inspection from the federal office of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

“These national quality awards and accreditations reflect our uncompromised commitment to excellence in patient care,” said Lester Schindel, CEO of CharterCARE. “Delivering safe, high quality care is the most important promise we make to our patients and their families.”

Among the certifications and accreditations achieved over the past year:

Roger Williams Medical Center:

Re-certified as a Primary Stroke Care Center by The Joint Commission.

Our Bariatric Surgery was reaccredited by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accredited and Quality Improvement Program.

Our Breast Health Program was accredited in mammography by the American College of Radiology.

Roger Williams Center has been designated as an Academic Comprehensive Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons.

The Cancer Center received Gold Level Accreditation Status from the American College of Surgeons.

The American Orthopaedic Association has designated our orthopaedics program as a Star performer in its national Own the Bone quality campaign.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) reaccredited the Sleep Disorders Center at Roger Williams for five years.

Our Lady of Fatima Hospital:

Recertified as a Primary Stroke Care Center by The Joint Commission

Our clinical laboratory received full recertification from the College of American Pathologists.

Fatima’s total hip and knee surgery program – The first in the state to be certified by The Joint Commission – was recertified.

Fatima was the first hospital in New England to be certified in Advanced Diabetes Care by The Joint Commission.

Fatima was awarded the prestigious Pathways to Excellence designation from the American Nurses Association’s Credentialing Center.

Fatima was awarded Exemplar status for its NICHE program (Nurses Improving Care for Health System Elders), which is focused on quality care for hospitalized seniors.

Fatima-based Southern New England Rehabilitation Center received full accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF).

Elmhurst Extended Care:

Received a deficiency-free inspection from the Rhode Island Department of Health.